Mollie smiled as she stepped out into the clean crisp air. After a long day of classes and feeling like she was being cooped up in the castle's stone walls, it felt so nice to be outside to breathe and to see. She pulled her well worn jacket closer around herself and began to carefully walk towards the shimmering aura of the forrest tree line. In the crook of one of her arms she carefully carried her most prized possesion, her stuffed cat plush Boshaft. He had been with her ever since she was born and he was her best friend after all, and she felt he deserved some time outside of the castle too. She gently ran her fingers along the several stitches that covered the black fabric of Boshaft's body; he had often needed repairs over the years.

She steps had started more cautious and timid but slowly she began to take on a more normal gate. Though, she still had to stay alert for missing patches in the grass where something might be to trip her. Taebryn had told her about how he would sometimes take walks around the edge of the forrest when he couldn't sleep and how it helped him. Though as far as Mollie knew it wasn't that dark outside yet, it shouldn't be dangerous to get a closer look, right?

Taibhse had stepped outside with the intention of walking down to the pool and dipping his feet in the cold water. But as emerged he noticed a familiar figure heading towards the treeline. Alone. Ulp.

"H-Hey, Mollie." He jogged towards her, keeping his voice calm. It was during the day, so there was less of a danger of someone passing through the seams in the borders, but Taibhse had no idea if Mollie's aura-vision allowed her to see the shimmering magic of the borderlines. He didn't know if it was technically a life force.

At the very least, he liked the idea of spending more time with Mollie. And a stroll through the trees wasn't a bad idea, just not a good idea for a lone person.

"Can I walk with you?" He slowed down as he got closer and chuckled. "Keep you company?"

She spun sharply on her heels when she heard the familiar voice and gave an adorable full smile when she saw Taibhse's aura not far behind her. She stopped to wait up for him and waved one of her arms freely in a greeting. "Hallo, Taibhse~! Is it not glorious out today?" She giggled softly and nodded when he caught up with her.

"Yes, please. I would love your company." She instinctively reached out with her free hand to touch his arm, being used to needing assistance with getting around. She smiled up at him and tipped her head, "So what brings you out here? I haven't seen trees that look like this before so I wanted to get a closer look and one of my other friends said that he liked taking walks around the tree line."

Taibhse tipped his head and automatically held out his arm for her to grip. "It's pretty nice out. Especially after all the rain lately."

"We can walk in the trees if we're together. Just promise that you won't go into the forest when you're alone, aye? Have someone with you." He reached with his other hand to ruffle her hair and caught sight of the cat plush. "Mm? Who is this?"

She smiled and wrapped one of her arms around his and leaned softly against Taibhse.

She looked up at him and smiled. "This is Boshaft. He's my best friend. . . remember the dolls I told you I play with?" She made an aura connection with her toy and moved it up for Taibhse to see. One of the cat's button eyes was obviously larger and a different color than the other and his left ear was missing a large chunk. There was also a red ribbon wrapped around the neck of the plush along with a silver bell that looked like a farily new addition to the patchwork stitching puzzle that was Boshaft.

She blushed softly and cast her eyes down a bit. "Just don't make fun of him okay? He's very senstive about how he looks. Oh, you said your Mom made ball joint dolls, yes? Could there be a way that I could see one, someday? Please?" She looked up at him a bit excited.

Taibhse beamed at the little cat and playfully flicked the little bell. "I like him. He's got character. Boshaft, you said?" He gave one of the cats forepaws a little shake.

"Nice to meet you, sir."

He started to walk close to the treeline, leading Mollie along with him. "Aye, I can make that happen. I could probably convince her to let me bring a friend home over the holiday break, if you'd like to visit. I'm sure she'd be happy to show off her collection."

She smiled and giggled as she made Boshaft give a small bow before having him float back to the crook of her arm.

"Really? Would your mom really be okay with me coming over? That would mean I would actually get to go somewhere over the holidays. . . as much as I'm sure some of my guardians would love to have me back home, they can't afford for me to travel. So I have just permanently moved here until further notice. Especially with the way I am. . .I've come to terms with the fact that I will probably never get adopted. I'm almost too old anyway."

She smiled softly up at him and her cheeks flushed a bit. Her gaze shifted to the tree line and she blinked a few times. "I haven't seen trees that have that look to them. It's like there are flecks of light mixed in with deeper colors, do you think it's because of this place?"

Taibhse blinked, trying to imagine what Mollie was seeing. It sounded gorgeous.

"The forest sort of blurs the line of the Arcadia border. I'm sure the magic has grown into the trees themselves, at least a bit." He looked around and led her carefully over a patch of grown where thick tree roots grew out of the grass.

"I wish I could see what you see. I wonder how the Loa tree would look to you. It's huge and it sort of... shelters the Drunken Loa tavern. Like it's hugging the building. There's no way it's a totally natural tree."

"I've heard of the Drunken Loa. My roommate speaks fondly of it. But I haven't ventured into the town yet, myself. I don't know if I'm just scared to go alone or if I'm trying not to overwhelm myself. Now that I'm finally managing to find my way around the castle, maybe I should visit Roo while she's at work sometimes." She giggled and looked up at him, "She tells me about how her boss was turned into a small monkey and he teases her about all of the boys that come by to see her." She sighed softly and moved away from Taibhse to gently touch the bark of one of the trees. "I'm so lucky to be here. I'm realizing that more every day. I'm so blessed to have a wonderful friend and roommate in Roo, and good friends like Jaebi and now you, Taibhse." She saw her vision blurr for a moment, and knew that her eyes were apparently watering. She blinked to try to stop herself from crying. "I'm just so happy here, where people are different too. . .and maybe I'm not too different, you know?"

"In her defense, most of her friends seem to be boys." Taibhse started to chuckle to ward off the twinge of jealously he felt, and took a step towards Mollie when he noticed that her eyes were watering.

"Oh, Molls. Listen, everyone's different here. The bordertowns are a place for people who don't fit in either realm. Every single person in Lakeshore is here for a reason, even if they haven't figured out what it is yet." He ruffled her hair again and smiled.

"I'm glad to hear that you're making friends so quickly. And I'm glad to be one of them."

Mollie reached out and hugged Taibhse without thinking much about it. She nuzzled her face into his chest and bit her lip. "Danke, Taibhse. I don't know if I will ever be able to express to you how much that means to me." She smiled up at him through her bangs. "I'm sorry. I'll try not to get emotional about it." She giggled and shyly moved away, linking her arm back around his.

She blinked up at him, almost surprised. "With the recent incident of her needing to stay in the infirmary for a few days it's almost been the other way around. She keeps telling me that I don't need to wory about her. And Abaddon comes over often to walk her to class and to make sure she gets to her dorm at night." She smiled softly. "I think they really like each other. Her colors intensify and get more vibrant when he is around. I wan't to be supportive of it. . . but maybe it's just because I don't know Abaddon well enough yet. And some of his colors concern me, or I'm just being overly sensitive." She giggled softly with a shrug. "Colors aren't -everything- afterall."

Taibhse tensed, fighting back the unhappy growl that wanted to rise out of his chest. He pursed his lips and felt his pulse quicken, whether out of jealousy or anger he couldn't know. Part of him was happy that the other boy was apparently looking after Roo-- Taibhse hadn't been able to school himself around his friend recently. He knew that what he was feeling was completely one-sided, and he knew that Roo got... happier... in Abaddon's presence. But having it confirmed by another person made something in his chest twist.

He eased his grimace into a calmer expression. "Do... I mean, what about his colors concerns you?" He was half-hoping that she would give him a reason to tell Roo to stay away from him.

Mollie could feel a shift in the air around Taibhse and she blinked up a bit, concerned. "Taibhse, are you okay?" Her voice got a bit quite as she began to explain, "Well, it's nothing much really. Abaddon just. . .um. . .he has some colors in him that remind me of some of the kids at one of the orphanages that would pick on me. They were never really mean just over all troublesome and prankster ish. . . they never actually physically hurt me. . . I can't be around people with those colors at all." She bit her lower lip and looked up at him, her brow furrowed. "Its nothing to be concerned about really. I'm sure it's just the way the colors show Abaddon's playful side."

Taibhse sighed through his nose and patted the hand she was holding his arm with. "I'm fine. I just don't like the idea of Roo being-- Or Abaddon-- Just, I'm fine."

So it sounded like Abaddon had antagonistic colors. Or at least some indication that he had potential for being a bully. He shook his head and looked down at Mollie, feeling a little deflated.

"I haven't talked with Abaddon much. I hadn't met him before the, uh... incident with Roo. So I don't know what he's like." Aside from what Roo had said about him. Coming out late to walk her home from work and stargazing on the rooftop. Taibhse grimaced again.

"I'm sure it's nothing. Just some colors." He was quiet for a long moment as they walked, letting his gaze sweep along the trees as they went. "Didn't mean to bring the mood down. I'm sorry. I just-- I'm a protective person, and Roo is my friend too. And I kinda wish I was the one taking her to class and whatnot instead of Abaddon." He sighed again, more to collect himself than anything, and kicked at a tree root.

She blinked up at him, her brow still furrowed and her lip slightly pouted. She clung to his arm and flinched a bit when the kicked the tree root. She spoke softly in almost a whisper, "Are these some of the complicated feelings you were telling me about when you tasted someones blood. . . see their past or fututre?"

She kept her gaze down and away for a moment. "I can understand how you feel, Taibhse. . . No one ever liked me. . . Not romantically anyway. And I have felt . . . and it hasn't been returned either."

Taibhse watched her as she spoke, and felt some of the tension leave his shoulders. He wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders and gave her a careful squeeze. "I might have accidentally gotten some of Roo's blood in my mouth. Got a vision." He grumbled and continued walking. "And now it hurts to be around her, knowing that she has no idea what's going on. I guess it's better that she likes Abaddon so much."

He ruffled Mollie's hair, managing a little grin finally. "It's good to have someone who understands what it feels like." Then he remembered. "Listen, if you still want me to try and get a vision of what you see-- I mean, you know what happens, but like you said before, it would be nice to have someone who can explain what you're able to visualize."

Mollie smiled up at him and nudged him gently. "Do you think you should tell her? I mean. She should know so she doesn't hurt you without knowing, right? And if you have real serious feelings for her, outside of the connection from the visions, then maybe that will change things in her mind."

She bit her lip when he brought up him using his power for her. "I do want to be able to relate to other people and to explain what colors are that I see. . . but I don't want something that I gain from to hurt you. And. . . I do like you Taibhse. You are a good friend and if it ended up being something more, I wouldn't mind. . ." she grew quite and looked up at him. She stopped walking and gently reached up to place her hand as close to his face as possible, probably ending up around his neck or collar bones. "But I want for whatever happens with us to be . . .I'm not sure what better word to use other than real. I don't want it to be because of my blood and your visions for it to twist whatever we have. does that make sence?"

"See, that's the thing. I don't know if I was serious beforehand. I had a bit of a crush on her, but I think that's just because she was smallish and cutish and laughed at the same things I did. It's almost better that she likes someone else, I think. It just doesn't make it hurt any less."

He beamed down at her and took her hand, placing a quick kiss on her knuckles. "How about this. We'll forego the vision attempt for now, and focus on getting to know each other more. And if things look like they're heading in that direction anyway, then we'll try it. Then we won't have to worry about the terribly unfair side-effect of my magic making things awkward. Does that sound fair, Molls?"

Mollie blushed fully at having her hand kissed and smiled looking away slightly, trying to hide the reddness of her cheeks. "I would really appreciate that more, Taibhse." She gave his hand a squeeze and bit her lip. "Has anyone ever told you that you can be quite charming when you want to be?"

Her face lit up for a moment and she bounced slightly on the balls of her feet. "Would you be willing to take me into town sometime? I don't want to go by myself and that way I can try to tell you about that tree in the Drunken Loa."

He let her take his hand and shrugged. "I think she will. She's hard to read sometimes, but she's a good person. She's the one that Turned me, so don't be alarmed if she smells like blood. She won't bite you."